Important Info from How to Rawk SxSW: The Basics
Via “How to Rawk SxSW: The Basics”:
First thing I learned. Proper way to make Satan fingers…
Then, we got to the Wiki…
Baratunde decscrbes SxSW as CES, for cooler people who have heart.
John points out that its hard to figure out who people are when you meet them in IRL, with a frank, “Is this someone I e-mailed, saw on Flickr, masturbated to….?”
Hsiung reviews the swag bag. There’s a lot of swag in the bag. You should do 1 of 2 things: Leave it in your hotel room OR go through it, toss all the crap you don’t want out and then continue on. (I did the latter…)
Baratunde: “Carry the gum. You’ll be doing a lot of talking and networking in the 3-D twitter. Also called real life.”
John points out carrying a canvas bag is both green and hip. “If you go into Whole Foods with your SxSW bag, don’t you get free stuff?”
Hsiung reviews the social networking stuff that is helpful for SxSW. He includes:
- My.SxSW.com
- Sched.org or http://sxsw2009.sched.org/
- Ning.org 2009 Unofficial insiders guide (He works for Ning).
- Bradlands.com’s SxSWBaby.com
- FourSquare
- Upcoming.org
- Use the SxSW tag.
- http://www.pepsicozeitgeist.com/ (Pepsi is a sponsor…)
Don’t try to do or meet anything.
Don’t go to the panels on stuff you know the most about. Try something new. Find out who the cool speakers are, and go to the stuff they teach.
You will be tagged and documented. Accept it.
“What happens at SxSW stays on Flickr!”
Tips to maintain your budget…
- Try to avoid eating in the convention center.
- Get a breakfast burrito!
- There is a Whole Foods west of the convention. Stock up on snacks for your hotel room and to carry with you.
- Free munchies on the trade show floor.
- Crash super corporate corny marketing party.
- Check out the ScreenBurn
Baratunde reminds us to LISTEN and stay hydrated.
John welcomes hugs at anytime, anywhere.
It’s about transparency and deepening connections.
You’ll likely get sick when you leave SxSW. (Called SxSars, according to the panelists…)
What is your one don’t miss?
- Bruce Sterling (Baratunde’s fav)
- 20 by 2 (Hsiung’s fav)
- Pasties and Pasteries (John’s fav)
- Heather Gold Show (John’s fav)
- Diaz (Karakoe Van)
Whats your 1 regret from previous SxSW conferences?
- Baratunde: Wanting to be at everything all the time and not having the confidence to just up and leave and go somewhere else.
- Hsiung: Chickened out at the Fray Cafe. Nerves got the best of him.
- “If someone here is going to dis you on the internet, F*CK Them!” - John, who had no regrets.
- Diaz: Don’t try to do everything. Do things that are meaningful.
